Amelioration - Lapidot Human AU
by Auremberite
Summary: Peridot has only ever wanted to find friends, and Lapis has only ever wanted to escape hers. Stuck in the bad part of town, they find each other, but not in the way you'd expect. One is in a gang, and the other in an ongoing existential crisis. Can these two work out their problems and become friends? Or is something more brewing? Something like love... Rated T for violence.
1. In the Alley

**Peridot has only ever wanted to find friends, and Lapis has only ever wanted to escape hers. Stuck in the bad part of town, they find each other, but not in the way you'd expect. Not many people hope to find the love of their life hiding in a dumpster, preparing to mug them. No one's perfect, and especially not these two. But when Peridot finds Lapis injured, she holds the thief's life in her hands. Will she save her, turn her in, or let her die?**

 **Tropes I plan to break: All of them. Examples: Peridot being a complete computer nerd who plays 10 video games a day and cries/gets angry when she loses, the "bad" one of the two smoking/drinking frequently because it's "cool," extreme anger issues in one (usually Lapis,) and Lapis being horribly uneducated compared to Peridot. Of course there's more, but I can't list them all.**

 **Side note: Lapis is a girl by birth and identifies as a girl in this fic. Her pronouns change twice, from non-binary to male, and then from male to female. Please do not scream at me saying that Lapis is a girl (again.) Thanks fam.**

 **Also side note: The characters' views are** _ **most definitely not mine all the time.**_ **I wrote them corresponding to their personality. If you find some completely horrendous, please don't scream hate at me. I might not even agree. It might be before their arc. Thanks again. Enjoy the fic.**

Peridot:

If I'd known I would be aggressively pepper spraying a thug with poor color coordination, I probably wouldn't have worn high heels to my job interview.

I should probably explain.

My name is Peridot. What's my last name, you ask? I don't use it, and I don't plan on ever doing so again. That much I can promise for sure.

I just moved to the city from far away. I don't miss my old home… but I still have some feelings, regrets, anxieties. One anxiety, for example, is my concern that I moved into a tiny two room apartment on the border of the bad part of town, just so I could be close to a job that I haven't even interviewed for yet and don't want.

I don't think I thought this through very much. Or at all. Maybe it's because my feelings are so mixed up? Then again, they always have been. Too mixed up for me to focus in school even though I was smart; too jumbled for me to turn in college applications on time, and too scrambled to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

So, naturally, having done mediocrely in school, and with no college or job experience, I turned to my second natural talent after academics: music. I couldn't sing to save my life, but my friend Steven had gotten me hooked on ukulele and guitar, which lead into synth and piano.

The job I was applying for today was at a radio station. I would fix equipment, being naturally good at tech, and act as a backup DJ if needed. If anyone came into record, I could help with that as well. It wasn't the job I wanted, but it was in the music and tech industry, and it was all I had. Or wanted to have, at least.

As I walked through the bad part of town to the radio station for my interview, I nervously glanced from side to side, peering down both the darkest alleyways and the brightest streets, searching for any sign of trouble. I had my pepper spray ready in my hoodie pocket in case any trouble appeared.

I probably shouldn't have worn an old, lime green hoodie to an official interview, but it calmed me, being from a time before my life became screwed up… to this extent. My ripped jeans, however, were just to look 'tough.' I had a feeling bright orange athletic short shorts wouldn't give off the same intimidating vibe.

After walking five blocks, I started quietly humming to myself for comfort. I was really in the bad part of town now. I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves before the big moment.

Nothing could've steeled me for what came next.

A teenager agilely jumped out from a dumpster in the nearest alley. They were dressed in a black hoodie with the hood up, black skinny jeans, and black skater shoes. The lower bit of their face was covered in a black bandana, but it still didn't cover their icy blue eyes. Their skin was tan, and a single lock of brown hair fell just over the bridge of their nose, covering a few splotches of freckles. In their hand was a short silver knife, a worn leather grip wrapped around the handle.

I held my hands up. "P- Please, don't hurt me," I stuttered pathetically, my eyes trained on my attacker's face but not quite meeting their icy blue gaze.

"Money. Jewelry. The works," my assailant growled in a husky voice.

My eyes flitted up to theirs, and I noticed that they were round and wide. This person was afraid. I could use that.

My hands slowly went down to my hoodie pocket. "O- Okay…" I stammered, stalling. "I have a few dollars, but it's not much."

I reached into the pocket, grabbed my pepper spray, and pushed down on the trigger. I waved it in streaks in front of me, blindly hitting what I could; their clothes, their skin, and even those chilling eyes.

"My eyes! I can't see!" They cried, stumbling backwards blindly.

I sprinted down towards the radio station without looking back.

oO0Oo

 _That went well,_ I think to myself as I walk out of the radio station. _I'd be lucky to get the job at this point, after what just happened._

As I walked down the dingy streets, now after the sun had fallen, I kept my pepper spray in plain sight this time, and no one seemed to come my way.

I cautiously approached the alley where I'd been jumped. As I did, I heard sounds. But this time, I heard someone sobbing. I rushed to the entrance, and found a person curled up against a wall, head in their knees, crying their heart out.

I slowly put my pepper spray away and walked over.

"Are you okay?" I murmured, putting my hand on their shoulder.

They jumped, and when I looked at their face, I gasped, and pinned them to the wall.

"It's you! You're the dude who tried to mug me earlier!" I exclaimed, my mouth drawing back into a snarl.

They looked in my general direction, their eyes unfocused. "You're the one who blinded me!" they yelled. "I still can't see anything but blurry shapes!"

"Oh, what a pity," I said mockingly, pinning them tighter against the wall with my hand.

"It's all your fault! My gang just kicked me out of the base for the next week, and I have no way to walk around, get food, or stop the bleeding! I'll die out here!"

I glare at her suspiciously. "What bleeding?"

They flinch. "What? I didn't… What bleeding?"

I look them up and down. I notice their hand covering their stomach. I grab their wrist and tear it away. Their hand comes away bright red and sticky. A large gash has been ripped in their hoodie, and I notice a deep crimson streak just below the rib cage.

I furiously bring my gaze back up to meet theirs. "What happened? I'm pretty sure this wasn't the pepper spray!"

"Thanks for the info, Sherlock," they scornfully reply. "Next time I need someone to solve a mystery, I'll call you up."

I roll my eyes. "Sarcastic brat," I mutter.

They tear their hand back. "Whatever. It's none of your business anyway."

I shove them away, and they hit the brick wall with a thud. "Fine. Have fun bleeding your life out onto the streets. See if I care," I call, turning around.

I feel their hand graze my calf, and I angrily whip around.

"Wait," they call. "Take me with you!"

"Why should I?" I demand, looking down at them with contempt.

"Because it's your fault I got stabbed in the first place!" she yells.

"How is this my fault?" I exclaim. "I defended myself with pepper spray!"

"My gang saw what happened. They- They thought I was weak because I couldn't defeat you, even with a knife. The leader, Jasper, hit me with my own weapon to show me… how it should've been done. Because I was blind, I couldn't defend myself," they desperately explain.

I pause for a moment, taking in their words. Then I sigh. "What's your name?"

They blink. "I don't like to use it much… but it's Lapis. Lapis Lazuli."

"Well, Lapis, you'd better be thanking your lucky stars, because I'm going to take you to the hospital," I reply.

Lapis breathes out in relief. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's only about ten blocks past my house. We'll pass my apartment on the way there."

"Thank you so much," Lapis says, slumping down on the ground in relief. "But how will I even get there? I can't see where I'm going."

I pause. "I'll guide you," I answer.

They offer their hand out, and I take it, pulling them up off the ground. I guide Lapis out of the alley, hand in hand, and we start to walk towards the hospital.

oO0Oo

After the third block, it begins to rain.

"Can you walk a little faster?" I mutter, pulling my hood up.

"Not if I want to keep any blood at all. If I move too much, the scratch opens up," Lapis replies. "Besides, I like this kind of weather."

I glance up at the sky, and a water droplet hits me in the eye. I blink rapidly. "You like this?"

"For sure," they answer, smiling.

"Should I call you Drizzle now?" I mutter. "You know, because it's drizzling."

"Better that than my birth name," they reply simply. "And you don't need to spell it out for me, I know what this type of weather is called."

"I thought you were a street rat."

"Doesn't mean I'm ignorant. I'm just as smart as anyone," Lapis hotly rebukes.

I shrug. "Fair enough."

They suddenly clutches their stomach. "Hey, how far are we?"

I shrug. "Another ten blocks. Why?"

In response, they collapse on the ground.

oO0Oo

So, I could either walk ten blocks to the hospital, or half a block to my apartment. Seems like a simple choice, right?

I wish.

If I took Lapis to the hospital, they might not even make it that far. But if they went to my apartment, they could steal anything and leave.

Of course, I could just leave them here to die.

But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did.

So I carefully scooped Lapis up in my arms and began to head towards my apartment. I'd have to trust them. And if they weren't trustworthy…

As I walked up six flights of stairs to my apartment, I caught a whiff of Lapis's… cologne? Perfume? It smelled like the ocean and sand, and the calming sea breeze that lazily wafted across the dunes after a storm.

Since Lapis was wearing a mask, I couldn't tell their gender, but I'd been assuming that they were a boy. I mean, come on, husky voice, flat chest, short hair – or at least bangs – he had to be a guy.

But then again, I'd never liked any guys either.

I turned away, instead focusing on the next flight of stairs. All I could see of Lapis was their – his? – eyes and nose. Maybe tomorrow I'd see his face. I mean, how could I low key like someone without even seeing below their nose?

I hoped he was dead ugly. Maybe then the fluttering feeling in my chest would stop every time I looked down at his face. I liked girls, not guys. This criminal wasn't going to make me question my sexuality again, right?

oO0Oo

Laying Lapis down on the bed, I rushed into my bathroom, grabbing the only medical supplies I had: an ace bandage, some band aids, and a bottle of aspirin. It wasn't much, but it was enough. It had to be.

Looking down at the boy, I stared at his torso. I physically could not work around his hoodie, but it felt wrong to take off his shirt.

I blinked. Lapis was literally dying on my bed. I had no time to waste. Guys took their shirts off all the time. I'm sure Lapis wouldn't grudge me if I did it to save his life, right?

Slowly peeling off his hoodie, I found a dark blue tank top underneath. It completely _ruined_ his all black aesthetic. Talk about a fashion _no._ If you're going to have the emo mood board, you've got to commit.

Tearing off the mismatched blue tank top, I gasped. Underneath Lapis's tank top wasn't a bare chest.

It was a binder.

Lapis was a girl.


	2. She Wakes

**Other tropes I'm breaking: having a really over emotional first meeting where they mentally gush over each other and it's so obvious they love each other before they even know each other's names. Peridot has literally only seen about a third of Lapis's face and smelled her perfume. Face bandanas aren't usually an instant turn on. Peridot isn't going to gush on page one. There's this thing. It's called development. And guess what? I'm going to use it.**

Peridot:

Three. Three sides to a triangle, three primary colors, and three days since she'd last seen Lapis awake, seen her ice blue eyes piercing her own celery green pair.

If it was a coma, it could be a lot longer; days, months, or even years until she saw the girl awake. If it wasn't, she should be up soon. Of course, she'd regularly check for a pulse, finding it growing stronger each time. The bleeding had stopped, but Peridot guessed if she moved Lapis, it would open again.

On the first day, she'd moved the girl to the floor so she could sleep in her own bed. On the second, she'd fed her ramen noodles, carefully, slowly, so the girl wouldn't choke. And on today, the third day, she sat leaned against the wall next to the brunette, typing furiously on her laptop.

What she was typing wasn't related to the girl at all. She kept a diary on her computer, using writing as therapy. She was too poor to afford paper at the moment. No job, no family, no money. Her aunt had died not too long ago, and she'd gotten enough inheritance to buy this cheap three room apartment, a laptop, and some food, but it wasn't enough. That's why she needed to get a job.

"Morning, sunshine," a voice weakly muttered beside her.

Peridot almost had a heart attack. She jumped to her feet, one hand clutching her laptop, the other over her heart. Her head whipped from side to side, and then down, resting on the face of the brunette.

"You're…" I gasped.

She manages a lopsided grin. "Awake? Yeah, I'm surprised too. Didn't think your medical skills were enough to cover this, but I'm still alive, so…"

"You're a girl," I stated.

She freezes, the smirk falling from her face, then looks down at her chest. "You… you saw?"

I blush. "I saw your binder. I had to take your shirt off to bandage the wound, but I didn't touch your binder, I swear."

Her grin returns slightly. "I didn't think there were many decent people left in town. If you'd left me out on the streets…" She pauses. "Where am I? This place is _not_ clean enough to be a hospital, and there aren't any bars, so it's probably not a police station."

"It's my apartment," I answer, looking around at the walls. I'd just moved in less than a week ago, and most of my stuff had yet to arrive by mail. All I had was a few pairs of clothes, a bit of food, and a bed, though that was in the other room.

Lapis slowly sits up, clutching at her bandaged stomach. She weakly leans against the wall, then turns to look at me. I quickly glance away, afraid to meet her eyes.

"Do you want to know why I pretended to be a boy?"

"It's not my business," I reply simply.

She smiles softly. "Looks like you really are a decent person. But I'm going to tell you anyways. I trust you already, even though I don't know your name."

"My name's Peridot," I add. "My parents wanted to call me Piper, but my mom was drunk when she gave birth, and she misspelled it on the birth certificate. Didn't care enough to change it after." I pause. "They don't really care about much."

She places her hand on my shoulder, and I feel a jolt of electricity run from her fingertips to my heart and back.

"Peridot's pretty, though. I like it," Lapis murmurs reassuringly.

I relax, my heartbeat beginning to slow. "What's your story?" I ask, changing the subject.

She looks down and sighs. "I mean, I'm not trans or anything. I had to fake being a guy so that no one in my gang would hurt me."

I glance down at her stomach. "Looks like it didn't work, then."

"The other kind of hurt."

"Oh." Realization dawns on me. " _Oh._ "

She shrugs. "I didn't really want to join the gang. One day, the leader, Jasper, jumped me, just like I did to you – sorry about that, by the way. She attacked me bare handed, but I managed to fight her off. I took karate and judo when I was younger, so I can fight. Just as I turned to walk away, she grabbed my ankle, pulled me down, and pinned me. My hair was hidden, so she thought I was a guy. She told me that her gang could use someone like me, that _she_ could use someone like me. It wasn't an offer. It was a threat. I was young, my dad had left long ago, and my mom might as well have. A gang offers protection and a place to stay. It was all I needed," Lapis explains.

I look at her sympathetically. "So, do you even want to go back?"

She slumps against the wall. "That's the last thing I want."

I look away guiltily. "I mean… I don't know if you can stay here. I barely have enough food to feed myself, and I don't have a job."

"Please! I don't have anywhere else to go!" she pleads, sitting up straight. "I can't go back."

"I thought you liked stealing."

"I don't like getting beaten up every couple days, or having to eat food scraps, or even wearing a binder. I want to wear a bra again," she replies, desperation seeping into her voice.

I turn to look at her, and our eyes meet, arctic blue against cat's eye green.

"I have nowhere else to go," she whispers, "I'll just be hurt over and over if I go back." Her voice cracks. "I'm so tired of being hit."

I weaken. "You can stay, but just for now. And you'll need to get a job. I'll need rent, but I don't want you stealing."

She freezes. "How am I supposed to go outside for a job? If my gang members see me, or even follow me…"

I sigh. "Whatever. We can work that out later. I'm going to go get some breakfast.

She looks at me questioningly. "And what should I do?"

"Stay inside. Don't risk being spotted. Read, sleep, whatever. I couldn't care less," I reply, walking towards the fridge.

"Peridot?"

Her voice makes me turn around.

"I'm sorry I'm a burden," she murmurs, putting her head on her knees.

I kneel down next to her and put my hand on her head. "You're not a burden."

"Then what am I?"

I pause, unsure of how to answer.

She smiles sourly. "That's what I thought," Lapis answers for me, laying back down on the floor.

"That's not what I meant. I barely know you, I don't know what you are. But you're not a burden."

She rolls over in response.

I sigh. "Drama queen," I mutter.

She doesn't reply.

 _I had a friend, after so many years of being alone._

 _So why was I being so rude?_

I snort dismissively. "Whatever. Call me when you're ready to talk again."

I hear her mumble something, but I can't quite catch the words.

oO0Oo

Around ten at night, I hear a knock on my bedroom door. I look up from my laptop and call, "What is it?"

"Why the hell is it so cold in here?"

"I can't pay my heating bills yet," I reply.

"It's the middle of winter! The temperature's like what, below freezing? Do you at least have a blanket?" she calls, more irritated.

"Only the ones on my bed."

A pause.

"No, you're not getting in bed with me," I follow up.

"Dude, I did not just spend ten minutes trying not to open up my life threatening injury while standing up to be told to go sit back down," she says angrily, slamming open my door. Her eyes flit to the corner of my room. "You even have a space heater! Could I at least sleep in this room on the floor or something?"

I pull the covers higher, hiding the fact that I'm only wearing an oversized tee shirt and skimpy underwear. "No. I don't trust a near stranger to sleep in the same room as me."

She stomps her foot on the ground. "Peridot, I swear, I…" she trails off, counts to three, then looks back at me. "Look, I'm trying to be a nice house guest, but that's kind of hard when the host is being an ass."

I roll my eyes. "Go throw a tantrum in the other room, will you? I have work to do."

"I bet you're just on Tumblr," she mutters.

Okay, she's not wrong, but I'm not telling her that. "Shut up."

She glares at me, but still exits my room without a word.

 _Why was I pushing her away?_

oO0Oo

The next morning, I wake up not to the calls of the birds, but to the sound of a distressed alarm. It must be my security system.

 _Lapis double crossed me._

I rush into the main room, whipping my head from side to side, looking for Lapis so I could beat her up, even though she could definitely take me and win.

Instead, I find the girl in the kitchen, rushing between the stove and sink, holding a steaming pan in her hands. She throws the pan under the sink, and I hear a sizzling noise. Lapis sighs in relief, then turns to me.

"Sorry for waking you up. I was going to make pancakes, but I can't really cook," she explains.

I blink slowly. "What?" I mutter uncomprehendingly.

"I set the fire detector off." She looks me over. "Are you even wearing shorts?"

This jolts me to life. "Shit. Don't look, I'm going to go change."

"Hey, speaking of hygiene, could I use your shower?" Lapis calls as I walk back to my room.

"I guess I don't want my roommate to smell like fish and death, so sure."

"I don't smell like fish and death!" she replies indignantly.

"Mhm."

"Wait, hold up, I actually do. I'm having a crisis, Peridot."

"There's this thing called soap. Please use it. Using it would be great."

Lapis walks towards the bathroom without turning around. "I'm not even sure why I smell like fish? I haven't even eaten seafood in the past week, so…"

I snort. "I always knew something was a little fishy about you."

She slowly looks over her shoulder at me. "You did not just tell a pun."

"Mmm, sadly, I just did."

"… I can't… with you," she mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Do you know what you can do? You can take a shower! Right… Right now!" I exclaim, pointing at the bathroom door.

She sticks her tongue out at me, winks, then enters the bathroom.

I blush. _What an idiot,_ I think to myself. _But, then again, what does that make me?_

oO0Oo

After changing into a pair of short black and green athletic shorts, yet keeping my oversized white tee shirt, I lounge around on my laptop in the main room.

"Yo, Peri?" Lapis's voice rings from the bathroom.

"My name is Peridot, not Peri," I reply, "And what?"

"Can I borrow some of your clothes?" she calls. "My hoodie and top were basically destroyed, I need a bra, and honestly, my jeans smell like death."

I groan. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Don't care as long as it's clean."

Grumbling as I went back to my room, I got her a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a mint green tank top. I threw it into the bathroom and went back to my laptop, putting my earbuds in. A minute later, I heard the bathroom door open. My mouth gaped open.

Lapis shyly walked out of the bathroom, slowly at first, but then more confidently with each step she took. The clothes that were a poor fit on me complimented her figure perfectly, slimming her body without making her look like a stick figure.

Since she'd been hiding her face under her hoodie, I'd never actually seen her hair. But now I saw it in its beauty, a mane of brown that fell just below her shoulders, flowing in waves around her head. Her skin was a tan color, and in contrast with her frosty eyes… she looked surreal. Beautiful. Not like I'd ever tell her, of course.

She looks at me reproachfully. "Hey," she mumbles. When she catches me blushing, a faint smile enters her lips. "You know, I don't think green's my color, but judging by the look on your face, I guess I'm making it work."

I scowl and turn back to my laptop, still blushing. "Whatever."

"You say that a lot," she remarks, walking closer.

"I try not to care too much. It puts me in awkward situations," I mutter. "Just like this one."

She sits next to me, and my heart beats loudly, once, twice. Then it goes back to normal, as if nothing ever happened.

"You don't seem to do much but stay on your laptop," Lapis remarks.

"I make music on here," I explain.

Her eyes light up. "That's so cool! Could you show me some?"

In truth, my songs were very private to me. "I doubt a street rat like you could appreciate _real_ music," I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. "Just because I was in a gang doesn't mean that I only listen to rap. I used to sing a lot when I was younger."

Peridot sighed and handed her a pair of old green earbuds. The brunette smiled as she listened, and finally added, "That's pretty good, but you should speed up the tempo. It'll make the bass stand out more."

I rolled my eyes and grudgingly did as she said. Surprisingly, it helped a lot, making a mediocre song into a memorable one.

"How'd you know to do that?" I asked suspiciously.

She shrugged. "Dunno, I guess it just seemed like the right thing to do. Now, if you changed this," she added, reaching for my keyboard.

I grabbed her wrist. "No way. What if you mess something up?" I look down at her wrist in my hand. Circling just below the palm of her hand in ink as black as night were tiny sharks, swimming on her wrist as though it was water, twisting and turning in the surf. "You have a tattoo?"

"That's one of two, actually. That one was because I wanted it, and the other was for my gang," she explains.

"Where's the other one?"

She winks at me playfully. "I guess you'll just have to find it," she answers.

"Screw you. I'm going to bed," I mutter, blushing furiously.

"Can I sleep in your room tonight? I feel like a dog that's forced to sleep outside because they always pee on the rug," Lapis calls.

"That's… oddly specific…" I muse. "But I barely know you, so you are not sleeping with me."

Just before I close the door, I hear her quietly murmur, "Goodnight, Peridot."

I lean against the back of the door, slumping down. "Goodnight, Lazuli," I whisper.


	3. And Changes

**Thanks for reading!**

 **Me: Switches character POV**

 **Person: wOAh there cowboy, slow it down, take a chill pill my bro dude, tone it the heckity heck down up in here**

 **Also earlier I was like, "I headcanon that when Lapis is tired or angry she talks like she did on the streets and says "yo" a lot and uses bad grammar. And then I was like, "It's my book, I can do whatever I want. I could make Peridot being a literal peacock canon and no one could stop me in the slightest."**

Lapis Lazuli:

Sleeping on the floor isn't that different from sleeping on the streets. But the streets are still a damn slight warmer than this place, I might add. Not that I'm being ungrateful. God, am I grateful. I owe my life to the little nerd in the other room, the one who googles fandom art (I checked her browser history when she went to the bathroom,) and who sneaks glances my way when she thinks I'm not looking. Has she ever heard of stealth?

Speaking of Peri, she woke me up last night. Well, more like the sound of breaking glass woke me up. I thought we were being robbed, but… I mean…

I sat upright as quickly as I could, causing a pain to shoot through my stomach like a lightning bolt.

Usually I woke up to the sound of Peridot going to the bathroom, as she was obnoxiously loud, but just now… I'd heard a horrifying crash, the sound of shattered glass. I'd heard that on the streets enough to know what it was. And it came from Peridot's room.

I sprinted into the blonde's room and slammed my hand on the light switch.

"Peridot!" I exclaimed, whipping my head around to look for her.

What I found wasn't someone breaking in, but was actually Peri sitting on her bed, cussing so venomously it would make a sailor blush, her hand dripping blood onto the cheap carpet.

I blink once, adjusting to both the bright lights and unusual scene. "The hell?" I mutter.

"I broke a vase in my sleep," Peridot explains between curses.

"The fuck, why?" I ask, walking to the bathroom to fetch bandages.

"It wasn't on purpose," she clarifies, glaring at me. "I thrash around a lot, and I was having a really weird dream, and oh no, there went my Aunt Daisy's vase."

I accept this, and move on. "What did you dream about?" I question as I re-enter the room.

When she blushes, I grin. "Aw, thinking about that special someone?" I ask coyly.

"Shut up," she growls.

Her tone is so serious that I drop the subject. Instead of pressing further, I grab her injured wrist and begin to wrap a bandage around it. She flinches, but I'm steeled.

"Be a bit more careful," she growls.

"I could give the same advice to you," I counter. "You shouldn't have kept a glass vase near if you know you thrash."

"Why are you doing this?" Peridot asks quietly after a moment of dead silence.

"Because you're hurt," I answer simply.

"But… I've been mean to you for the past two days that you've been awake. I pick fights, call you street trash, but… you still care enough to help?"

I pause, and look into her eyes. "Yes."

She gets visibly angry. "But you're… a gang member! You're supposed to be tough as nails, hardened, violent. But, then again, you never really were a true member! You couldn't even mug me, a computer addicted nerd with literally no muscle, and you were too soft to defend yourself from your other street rat friends! But you can't exactly fit in here, either! You don't belong!"

Rage sparks through me like a fire, hot, angry, and destructive. "Do you think I wanted to join a gang? Jasper threatened to kill me if I didn't! And I couldn't exactly escape, either! I tried, it failed! But even if I did, where would I go? Back home with my emotionally abusive mother? My only friends are you and Jasper, and both of you treat me like shit!" I spit. "So stop calling me damn names! I get that I've screwed my life over, but I don't need a little twerp like you to rub it in every five seconds just to raise your own self esteem!"

A look of shock flashes over her face, and I realize that I've gone too far. The flames inside me dull to dying embers, glowing, shimmering. More beautiful than fire, but less bright.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles.

I look away darkly, but don't reply. I finish wrapping her bandage, and I silently walk out to leave. Before I close the door, I hear her mumble,

"Thanks. For everything."

oO0Oo

The next morning when I wake up, I hear the blonde girl humming quietly to herself in the kitchen area. I slowly sit up, making sure my stomach stay in one piece. She must hear the movement, because she brightly turns to me and says,

"Hey, you're finally awake!"

I rub my head sleepily. "What time is it?" I ask, my tone still flat form last night.

"Four in the afternoon. Not important. But I have some-"

"Four in the afternoon?" I squawk. "I got almost sixteen hours of sleep!"

"Yeah, you seemed pretty tired after… earlier," Peridot mumbles, looking at her feet. "But hey, I got my old friend, Amethyst, to drop by earlier and drop this off," she says, holding up a narrow blue tube.

I hold my hand up, and she tosses it in a perfect arc. "Hair dye?" I question after reading the label.

"I've been watching you stare out of the window all week. I thought that maybe if you changed your hair color, then your gang wouldn't be able to recognize you, so you could finally go outside," Peridot explains.

"You just want me to get a job," I mutter.

She puts her hands up. "No, that's not it at all. Honestly, I don't care if you get a job at this point. I just…" she scowls. "…want you to be safe. And if that means taking on a financial burden, then..." she pulls at her hoodie strings.

I twirl the tube of dye in my hand. "What made you choose blue?"

"I thought it would match your eyes," she remarks.

"You do spend a lot of time staring into them when you think I'm not looking," I note, grinning.

"They look like frost in the sunlight and they sparkle in just the same way, magical and beautiful, and almost inhuman, and I can't figure out the color when I see so much emotion there too, and it's driving me crazy," Peridot blurts out, her words tumbling out before she could think.

She turns a dark shade of red and begins to head to her room, when I call, "Where are you going?"

"Some place where I can live down my shame," Peridot mutters.

"Aren't you going to help me put this on?" I ask, gesturing to the hair dye. "I'm pretty sure doing it myself would be a disaster."

She freezes. "I've, uh, never actually used it before. I don't know how, and I-"

I toss her the bottle, which she barely manages to catch. "Same, but if we do it together it should be easier."

She mutters something that I don't catch, and grabs a bunch of newspapers for the floor. Then, she uncaps the hair dye bottle, and begins to read the instructions.

"Uh… lean back?" she says, though her tone is questioning.

I look at her, then back at me. "I'm standing up."

"Well, then go sit down!" she exclaims.

"Where? You don't even have a sofa, let alone a chair!"

In the end, I sit on the toilet with the lid down in the bathroom, my head over the sink.

"Uh, I guess I'll just… put it in…" Peridot mumbles anxiously.

"What about washing my hair first?" I ask.

"Who's the hairstylist here?" she demands.

"Neither one of us," I answer.

"Well, for today, it's me," she replies. "And I say that you should wash your hair."

I lean my head into the sink. "Just turn it on."

She does, and the stream of water hits me squarely in the nose. I sit up to avoid it, but my head hits the sink head. I cuss under my breath, then move so it's my hair that's being washed.

Once that's done, she puts on rubber gloves and opens the hair dye.

"So… I'll just… put it in…" she mutters. When she feels my hair to straighten it a bit, I hear her mumble, "Why is it so soft?"

I smile. "It's naturally like that."

Apparently she hadn't meant for me to hear that, because she jumps a little and rubs the back of her neck.

"It's… kinda nice…" she murmurs. She blinks once, snapping back to her usual self. "Forget I said that."

"Why? Did you mean it?" I ask.

"Yes," she mutters.

"Then I won't forget. It's okay to be nice, you know."

She ignores my comment and rubs the blue dye in my hair, making sure to get it on every strand. I feel her fingers running through my scalp, and I repress a shiver. I don't think she'd ever actually really touched me, aside from when I was injured.

I took a deep breath. "Thanks for doing this, Peri."

"It's Peridot."

"Sorry, Peri."

"If you're not nice, I'll splatter this on your skin, and it won't come off for weeks."

"Hm, somehow I think that's an empty threat."

Peridot rolls her eyes and says, "Whatever, I'm done anyway."

I sit up and look in the mirror. The person who looked back was… stunning. Her ice blue eyes shone brightly, strongly, further illuminated by her royal blue wavy hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, crashing, flowing.

I turned around to face Peridot, who was blushing furiously. "Thanks," I murmured, giving her a hug. She immediately tensed up, but after a few moments, she relaxed and hugged me back.

"No problem," she murmured into my newly dyed hair.

oO0Oo

That night would be the coldest yet since I'd moved in. But I was tired, and fell asleep anyways.

But as always, I woke up some time elater, hearing Peridot's now-familiar footsteps heading towards the bathroom. But this time, on the way back, she stopped in front of me. I heard her sigh softly, and my stomach squeezed as she begun to pick me up. I continued to feign sleep as she carrier me into her room.

Instead of laying me in the bed as I'd dreaded, she laid me down next to the space heater, close enough so I would be warm but far enough so that I wouldn't be burned.

"Good night, Lazuli," she murmured, climbing into her own bed. "Sweet dreams."


End file.
